Laura Stack creates ink paintings and collages that are an imagined view of artificial life or the
“new natural”. Her painting process begins by envisioning a fluid, bodily, cellular, or chemical world expressing its own laws of physics. Organic forms such as fungi and microscopic life and the biological processes of lava flow and branching inspire the painting imagery. She coaxes the ink across the paper’s surface, corralling, halting, spreading, and encouraging its direction. The ink shapes then morph into tendrils or bloom and disperse. Through physical gestures and the fluidity of the ink, she aims to create a sense of pulse and movement.

Stack’s work evokes contradictions – the embodiment of the natural and synthetic, the simultaneity of flatness and depth, and the illusion of movement within a still image. There is no logical reading of these paintings. They are a mirroring of the mysterious questions that define our changing relationship with the natural world. See more of Laura’s artwork at laurastackart.com

OPEN DOOR is the one time of year when Rosalux opens its doors to artists outside of the collective in the form of an open call to bring inside what is happening outside of the gallery doors and give them an opportunity to share their work with our audience.

JUROR: DANIELLE KRYSA, AKA The Jealous Curator thejealouscurator.com/blog Krysa has a BFA in Visual Arts, and a post-grad in graphic design. She is the writer/curator behind the contemporary art site, The Jealous Curator (est.2009). Danielle has curated shows from Washington DC to Los Angeles, San Francisco to Toronto. In 2014 she published two books, titled “Creative Block” and “Collage”. Her third book, “Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk” was released in October 2016, and she is currently working a new book due out Fall 2018. Danielle has also had the great pleasure of speaking at TEDx, PIXAR, Creative Mornings, CreativeLive, and was interviewed for several video segments on oprah.com.

JUROR’S COMMENTS ON WORK SELECTED FOR THE EXHIBITION:

“A gorgeous grouping of art, hung together under one, simple, unifying theme – I love this stuff! I really do, and here’s why. The pieces in this show are the work of 21 artists from all over North America, each with their own unique use of materials and personal point of view. Every piece – from drawings to paintings to sculpture – tells its own story but together, in this particular grouping, the narrative gets even more interesting. A metal dog makes friends with a bandaid mandala, while a text covered mirror in the corner speaks quietly to an unconventional
scientific-esque timeline. Weird and wonderful, unique while strangely harmonious.”

Melissa Loop uses her travels to explore notions of authenticity, place, and spirituality through our experiences of other cultures. Follow the Moon is inspired by her trips to Central America in 2012 and 2015 when she visited ancient Mayan sites. While her paintings are based on reality, the compositions are purposefully invented in an attempt to recreate rare moments of spiritual transcendence one encounters when taking a pilgrimage to a sacred place. With this particular group of paintings, Loop focused on exploring the space between imagination, reality, spiritual transcendence, and dreams. By doing this, she is weaving a tale of a pilgrim coming out of a deep sorrow and finding the origin of life.

Tie Yourself to Me, 2017, Synthetic polymer on panel, 18 x 24″

In Voiceatscript, Ute Bertog continues to explore the tenuous relationship between abstraction and language in her paintings to address themes of communication and its failure. For Voiceatscript she focuses on a deeply felt sense of speechlessness. Being speechless and without words to articulate one’s thoughts and opinions is seen either as a defiant gesture or – more often – as a sign of powerlessness. In order to regain a sense of power Bertog then reaches for readymade texts, quotes, and cliches as a starting point for her paintings, only to lose them again in the painting process. The goal is to introduce the necessary space for questions, imagination and play to take hold to freely renegotiate original content.

We are happy to announce Edie Overturf as a new member of Rosalux Gallery.

Edie is an artist who works with prints, drawings and sculpture as a vehicle for storytelling. She has a M.F.A. from California State University and a B.F.A. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Edie just received a Jerome Emerging Artists Fellowship for 2016-2017 and exhibits her work locally and nationally. Along with her studio practice, she is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Printmaking at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

“Through the narratives I create I question this act of storytelling and its effective outcomes on individual as well as cultural perspectives. Folktales, legends, religions, myths, fable, rumors: all have been used to explain the unexplainable, as well as create social structures through tales of morality. The authorship and authority that the storyteller retains allows for embellishment and plausibility, and the direction in which this authority is used is dependent on the author’s agenda. Folktales, legends, religions, myths, fable, rumors: all have been used to explain the unexplainable, as well as create social structures through tales of morality. The authorship and authority that the storyteller retains allows for embellishment and plausibility, and the direction in which this authority is used is dependent on the author’s agenda.”
– Edie Overturf

Betsy Alwin will show her concrete and metal sculptures at Silverwood Park, Kolman & Pryor Gallery, and Minnesota State University during September and October.
INFRA: Betsy Alwin at Silverwood ParkInfra is a new outdoor concrete and metal sculpture that will be shown on the grounds of Silverwood Park, Three Rivers Park District, in St. Anthony, MN.
Opening Reception: September 14th from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.Exhibition Dates: September 14th – October 21st.

“My interest in casting lace concrete forms is derived from my recent and current body of work that incorporates lace and ceramic form. I wanted to combine the delicate nature of lace with the harsh durability and weight of concrete. The decorative lace texture combined with the contrast of blue and white refers to domestic ware but also allows one to see the forms in a different way. These cast forms are combined with rebar, emphasizing an industrial and construction context. I am also excited to experiment with larger forms in an outdoor public setting. In this way, my work can engage more viewers for longer periods of time.The title, “Infra-,“ is derived from Latin meaning under or below. Besides being the prefix of infrastructure, I also take it as a way to connote what is there but not seen; what is taken for granted.

About Jim Hittinger’s GRAVEYARD SHIFT:Graveyard Shift explores a sparsely populated world littered with empty lots, depleted suburban subdivisions, and chain-link fences tracing the confines of sites where things once were. Beacons and warning signs mark isolated islands of activity within the void: flags, sirens, neon markings on diseased trees, used car lot inflatable dancing men. The entire world is the outskirts of somewhere else. On the surface the world appears lifeless, but its inhabitants go through the motions of living; they celebrate holidays, bury their dead, and play baseball.

Snowman, 2016

Jim Hittinger received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan in 2012 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from The University of Minnesota in 2015. His work has been widely exhibited locally and nationally, including recent exhibitions at Whitdel Arts in Detroit, Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis. He currently teaches in the Department of Art at The University of Minnesota. Jim Hittinger

Shannon Estlund, Untitled, oil on canvas, 48 x 60”, 2017

About Shannon Estlund’s LOW VISUAL DISTANCE: Shannon Estlund’s abstracted landscapes are inspired by Rice Creek and the surrounding forest near her home in Fridley, Minnesota. The title Low Visual Distance refers to the way that dappled light, physical obstructions, and abstractions of form complicate an objective understanding of these spaces. Instead, the paintings offer a psychological interpretation of each site. The subjects of the paintings, which include downed trees, stagnant pools, and tangles of brush, demonstrate various states of growth and decay. Subjects are rendered using overlapping imagery, expressive color, repeating pattern, and abstracted form as a metaphor for a subjective and ever-changing perception of reality. The paintings in this exhibition represent a practice in becoming comfortable with the unknown and appreciating the impermanent and interdependent nature of all things.

Fifty Three Degrees, 2017

Shannon Estlund holds a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and received her B.F.A. from the University of Florida. Shannon currently teaches at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and Augsburg College. She has received several grants for her work from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Community Foundation. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally at museums and galleries including the Crisp Ellert Art Museum (FL), the Elmhurst Art Museum (IL), Soo Visual Art Center (MN), the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens (FL), and at the National Galleries of Scotland. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings and Studio Visit magazines. Shannon Estlund is a fiscal year 2017 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Shannon Estlund

Join NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota at the Hair and Nails Gallery for our 2nd Annual Art Salon. Come to mingle, admire and purchase the work of local artists, and support a good cause! 100% of proceeds go to NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota.
There is a suggested $10 donation at the door.

The 410 Project curated this exhibit of eight Minnesota artists who are all working in the medium of paint but explore its usage in a variety of ways, showing that defining ourselves as a painter is not just applying paint to a canvas, but creating a color, a texture, a narrative.

Betsy Alwin recently exhibited her sculpture in “Eight Artists”, a group show at 369 Gallery in St. Paul, MN.

Eight Artists is a diverse selection of new works exhibited at Space 369 through an open call for art. These artists were selected by the juror, Candice Hopkins. The exhibition included painting, sculpture and performance works.

space369.online is an alternative, non-commercially funded, arts project space located in Saint Paul. This exhibition is made possible through the support of the Knight Foundation.